


Black Coffee

by notebookthief



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, golly this was fun, theyre both kinda dorky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 17:18:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4754660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notebookthief/pseuds/notebookthief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>based on the prompt ‘You’re really short and cute and you buy a cup of black coffee every morning but you make weird faces as you sip it and you never finish your drink are you trying to look mature or something’<br/>Tsukishima falls in love with with a sunshine boy who tries to drink his coffee black.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Black Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> well golly gee i spent the whole day writing this for my friend and i really like it!!! i hope you do too. ive never written tsukihina but it was a really fun dynamic??? i thought it was cool. i hope i characterized them right!!  
> edit: WOW i am sorry this was unedited and it had SO many mistakes i cant believe this anyway i did a quick readthrough and corrected everything i found so i hope that fixes it im so sorry!!!

“I’d like a medium black coffee please!” 

Tsukishima glances down at the boy, a regular customer, and sighs. “Again?” he says in exasperation, writing the order on a takeaway cup. The shortie scrunches up his face in what could be a pout. 

“Of course!” he says, without any hesitation, and Tsukishima rolls his eyes. 

“Name?” 

“I come here everyday, you know my name by now, Tsukishima!” 

“Name?” 

He huffs a little. “Hinata.” 

Tsukishima writes his name on the cup, a tiny smirk on his face, and sets the cup on the counter to be filled. Hinata hands him the money, already knowing the price, and walks away. Tsukishima places the change in the tip jar. 

Hinata comes into the café every day at ten am, full of energy Tsukishima cannot reciprocate, and every morning he orders a black coffee that he never, ever finishes. The first few times he threw out the still-full cup, Tsukishima was annoyed; however, after taking to watching him drink it, it's become more of a source of amusement. 

Hinata obviously hated the stuff, scrunching his face and sticking out his tongue. Sometimes he’d order a pastry with it, and he’d be able to drink more of his coffee by chasing after the bitterness with the sweet. Days like today, he barely manages a third before it’s in the garbage and he leaves. 

“You must really like him,” his coworker Kuroo says behind him. Just after Hinata leaves, there’s usually a lull, and they can talk freely. “You don’t usually take an interest in customers.” 

He snorts. “I’m not interested. He’s just ridiculous. There’s no point in ordering something you won’t drink.” 

Kuroo raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t comment - rare, but definitely appreciated. 

\--------------------

Sometimes, when Tsukishima is working evenings, Hinata comes in with a friend or two. He orders his usual black coffee, drinks even less of it than normal, and is twice as animated. More than half the time, he’s with a tall, black-haired grouch and they yell at each other until Tsukishima tells them to shut up (and that sometimes doesn’t work either). They’re often joined by a tiny blonde girl who helps them with homework. Sometimes he comes in with Kuroo’s friend Kenma (Tsukishima prefers him because he can usually keep Hinata a little more quiet). Sometimes he’s joined by two very rowdy guys and Tsukishima usually has to kick them out. 

Today is the first time, though, that Tsukishima has seen him with his own friend Yamaguchi. 

Hinata is already waiting at a table with his black coffee (that hasn’t been touched once) when Yamaguchi rushes inside. “Hi, Tsukki!” he says cheerily at the counter. Tsukishima doesn’t need to ask what he wants, and starts writing it on a cup. 

“Don’t call me that,” he says out of habit. “You never come in the evening.” 

Yamaguchi laughs awkwardly, but doesn’t offer an explanation. Tsukishima doesn’t really care until he finds Yamaguchi seating himself across from Hinata and the two starting to talk. 

Tsukishima eyes them all evening. They don’t appear to be doing homework; in fact, they’re just chatting, not about anything in particular, definitely not about things Tsukishima talks about with Yamaguchi. He’s almost envious. 

He ends his shift at ten, when the café closes, and that’s when the two of them leave. Hinata gives a big wave to Yamaguchi, and yells a goodbye to both of them. 

“I didn’t know you were friends with him,” Tsukishima comments when Hinata is out of earshot. Yamaguchi shrugs. 

“We worked on a project together. We play volleyball sometimes too. He’s on the college’s team. You should play with us sometime!” 

Tsukishima mutters a “no, thanks” before walking off, annoyed and not knowing why. 

\--------------------

“Why do you even order that stuff?” Tsukishima asks from the counter. It’s a particularly slow day today, but Hinata is here like always, making faces at his coffee. “You clearly hate it.” 

“I don’t hate it!” he says, defending himself. He takes a sip to prove it and grimaces, making Tsukishima snicker. Hinata glares at him with no malice. 

“What do you drink, then?” he demands, staring at him. Tsukishima doesn’t like the intensity in his eyes, like he _has_ to know. 

“Lattes,” he says. Hinata cocks his head to the side. 

“Can you make me one? I’ve never tried it.” 

Tsukishima glances at him for a moment, then asks, “What kind do you want?” 

Hinata shrugs. “Whatever you get for yourself is fine.” 

He almost grimaces himself. He usually makes something really sweet. Hinata probably won’t care though, so he makes the drink. 

When he’s finished he makes Hinata come up front to grab it and pay, just to be rude, but Hinata doesn’t seem to mind - in fact, he looks excited. He almost sloshes the drink over the side when he grabs it, and his first sip is a big gulp, after which he exclaims, “This is really good!” 

“Should I change your regular order, then?” Tsukishima asks, inwardly chiding himself for being embarrassed. 

Hinata shakes his head. “Nope! This is a one-time indulgence. I’ll master black coffee!” 

The latte is finished within minutes, and the full cup of black coffee is thrown out with it. 

\--------------------

“You’re doing that problem wrong.” Tsukishima finds himself saying as he sets Hinata’s order down at his table. 

Hinata glances up at him. “What do you mean?” 

He sighs. “You’re supposed to be analyzing the girls emotions in response to her friend’s actions, not the actions themselves. I helped Yamaguchi with it last night.” He turns away to go back behind the counter, but Hinata grabs his apron first. He turns back, a little annoyed and even less curious, to find Hinata with a huge grin on his face. 

“Thanks, Tsukishima!” he says brightly, completely sincere. Tsukishima tugs his apron out of his grasp. 

“Whatever.” 

\--------------------

“Tsukishima!” 

He turns to see Hinata running over to him, waving his hand. His mouth turns down into a frown at the sight of him, something Hinata either doesn’t notice or pretends not to. His friend beside him glances between the two of them curiously. 

Hinata’s panting a little when he gets up to them, but not much. “Thanks for your help with the problem yesterday,” he says brightly, smiling up at him. “I got full marks!” 

Tsukishima makes sure no weird expressions cross his face, keeping it in a neutral frown. “Good for you. I’m not helping again.” 

“U-uh, well,” Hinata stutters - the first time he has ever heard him stutter, and it stops Tsukishima in his tracks. “I wanted to invite you out with me and Yamaguchi as a thank you? We’re going to play some volleyball -” 

Tsukishima shakes head quickly. “Have fun without me. I’m busy. See you.” 

This time when Hinata calls his name, he ignores him. 

“You didn’t need to be so rude turning him down,” his friend chides him when Hinata’s gone. “Like, yeah, he seems a bit much, but still.” 

Tsukishima shrugs. “If he can’t handle it, then sucks to be him.” 

\--------------------

It is not often that Yamaguchi forces him to go places, but today is one of those times, much to Tsukishima’s chagrin. 

Hinata seems surprised to see him after his rejection, but happily accepts him nonetheless. There’s a few others in the gym as well - most of the people he sees with Hinata at the café, including Kuroo, and a few of Kuroo’s friends he’s seen around. He’s surprised to recognize most of the people there, and absentmindedly clicks his tongue. 

“Tsukishima!” Hinata yells as he bounds over to him - with seemingly less enthusiasm, but Tsukishima can’t be sure. “You said you weren’t coming?” 

He turns his head to the side, nose in the air. “I changed my mind.” 

Hinata smiles at him, and so does Yamaguchi behind his hand, making Tsukishima click his tongue again and walk over to Kuroo, who gives him a knowing grin. 

Tsukishima hadn’t really believed Yamaguchi when he mentioned he was on their school’s volleyball team. Hinata was tiny; of course, he could have been a libero, but Tsukishima didn’t think about it too hard. He simply rejected the idea as a fantasy and left it at that. 

He barely jumps when he goes to block Hinata and immediately regrets it. 

Hinata is _flying_. 

He runs around the court with unparalleled speed, which annoys Tsukishima to no end, but his jumps put him at the same height as the tallest people on each team. 

He stares at his back when his teammates congratulate him on his spike, and Kuroo claps his shoulder. 

“Crazy, right?” he says, amusement colouring his tone. “He’s really something else.” 

Tsukishima tears his eyes away and walks back into position. “It doesn’t matter.” 

He makes it his goal to block Hinata every time he can, and every time he fails earns a frown and a little more effort he doesn’t realize he’s putting in. 

Hinata’s team wins, which Tsukishima is convinced he doesn’t care about, despite the fact that he glares at them a couple times. He’s wiping the sweat from his face when Hinata bounds over to him, somehow still full of energy, and exclaims, “I didn’t know you could play so well!” 

Tsukishima drops the towel around his neck. “I played in high school.” 

“Your blocks are like _bwoof_ and _pow_! It’s awesome!” 

He looks like he’s practically sparkling, full of excitement; Tsukishima has no idea why him playing volleyball is able to get him worked up. “It’s nothing,” he says, not trying to be modest; it really is nothing. 

“You should join the team! Kageyama, Tsukishima should join the team, right?” he yells, turning his head. The black-haired setter shrugs. 

“Only if he can actually work on one,” he yells back, seemingly grumpy. 

“Bakageyama! You only started doing that this year!” 

“Shut up! Idiot!” 

Tsukishima, for some reason, feels like laughing. He sobers when Hinata turns back to him with a pleading expression. 

“I’m not joining,” he says firmly. “It was never a serious thing.” 

“Tsukishima!” 

He’s already leaving. 

\--------------------

“What’s your favourite food?” 

Tsukishima is startled by the random question, nearly dropping the coffee he’s setting down at Hinata’s table. Yamaguchi and the blonde girl, who’s name he’s found out is Yachi, are all sitting together with him, already sipping on their own drinks. He pauses for a moment. 

“Ask Yamaguchi,” he says, finally, and walks back to the counter. 

He purposefully ignores their conversation, focusing on work instead. He’s forgotten all about the question by the time the three of them are leaving. 

Hinata falls back, waving the other two ahead. “Tsukishima, you’ll come to our study group, right?” 

Tsukishima glances at him. “Why would I do that?” he says, with only a hint of contempt. 

Hinata grumbles a little unintelligibly. “Me and Yachi were gonna make some food, and we’re gonna make strawberry shortcake so you have to come or you won’t get any!” he says, speeding up until it’s almost too garbled to understand. Tsukishima wonders why he’s nervous, then wonders why he himself is a little nervous. 

He takes a moment to think about it, then takes another just to make Hinata sweat. “If you’re really so desperate for me to be there, I’ll come.” 

Hinata whoops. “Thanks, Tsukki!” he calls as he rushes out the door, leaving no time for Tsukishima to get mad at him for the nickname. 

“Idiot,” he mutters to himself. 

\--------------------

Tsukishima is finding it harder and harder to mask his emotions around Hinata. 

This particular time it is his surprise that Hinata is not, in fact, a disaster in the kitchen - quite the opposite. When he arrives at Hinata’s shared apartment he and Yachi are cooped in the kitchen making both dinner and dessert. There’s already snacks set up, including what appears to be freshly baked cookies, and Tsukishima honestly can’t help it when his mouth starts watering. 

“Tsukki! I didn’t think you’d actually come,” Yamaguchi says from where he sits at the table, munching on a cookie. 

“Don’t call me that,” he says, slipping out of his shoes and coat and padding inside. “Excuse the intrusion.” 

“Sorry, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says, a little bit louder than before, and Tsukishima just rolls his eyes. Hinata bounds over him in an apron with sunflowers on it, smiling like it’s Christmas morning. 

Tsukishima has no other words to describe him other than _cute_ and he wants to slap himself for the thought. 

“Tsukishima! Make yourself at home! We’re gonna eat and then study, but if you and Yamaguchi want to start studying right away while we cook that’s fine!” 

He nods, not noticing Hinata’s pink-tinged cheeks, and sits beside Yamaguchi. Hinata runs back to the small kitchen, nearly bumping into Yachi. 

“He’s really glad you came,” Yamaguchi says quietly, smiling mischievously at him. He raises an eyebrow at his friend, waiting for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t; just continues eating cookies. Tsukishima sighs and fiddles with his phone until the other two are done. 

It doesn’t take long for everything to be finished, and there is a massive amount of food. Tsukishima really doesn’t understand exactly why there’s so much, since the four of them could never eat it all (especially with dessert) until he sees Hinata shoveling food in his mouth. 

Yachi tells him to slow down, else he choke, and Tsukishima hides his smirk behind his own food (which is surprisingly delicious). He wholeheartedly enjoys the meal, even down to Yachi wiping Hinata’s cheeks with a napkin and him turning bright pink. 

“Did you like it?” Hinata asks when he’s finished, wide, curious eyes searching his own. He glances away from them. 

“It was all right,” he says nonchalantly, getting up to help Yachi clear the table. 

“He really liked it,” Yamaguchi assures him. “He’s just being shy.” 

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima says, glaring over his shoulder at him. 

“Sorry, Tsukki,” he replies cheekily. 

Dessert is probably the highlight of the night, with his promised strawberry shortcake and Hinata’s embarrassed squirming. He almost wants to say it’s bad just to screw with him, but it’s actually very good, and if he said otherwise he’d have to stop eating it; he’s only grateful Yamaguchi doesn’t poke fun of him when he asks if he can take some home. 

Homework, however, is incredibly frustrating. He ends up mostly helping Yamaguchi because Hinata is hopeless - only Yachi seems to be getting through to him. It’s a long night, but he actually does get some work done, so he figures it wasn’t totally worthless. 

Tsukishima ends up being the last one to leave, mostly because Yachi made them all tea and everyone else finished theirs first. He doesn’t take his time getting ready to leave, pulling on his coat and shoes with haste, and Hinata hovers around the door with him. 

“Will you come next time, too?” he asks nervously, fiddling with his apron. Tsukishima’s automatic answer would have been no, this was a one-time deal, but the word catches in his throat uncomfortably. 

“Make curry next time. I like it sweet,” he says after a few moments, cursing himself. Hinata brightens considerably, smiling gleefully. 

“I will! Thank you for coming!” 

Tsukishima walks out of the apartment with a knot in his chest. 

\--------------------

Somehow, he becomes part of their regular study group, and it becomes almost strange to not see the three of them every week. Sometimes, he even finds the good in himself to help out Hinata, even if they end up arguing half the time. 

Today, however, is the first time he can’t make it. One of his coworkers is on holiday, and he needs to fill in for him for the evening - the extra pay is nice, but he can’t help but miss the taste of Hinata’s cooking despite himself. 

Hinata texts him throughout the night. He undoubtedly got his number from Yamaguchi, the meddlesome bastard, but Tsukishima doesn’t mind as much as he thinks he should. Hinata’s texts are filled with selfies of the three of them, humorous texts about how someone couldn't solve a particular problem, how bored he was, and, one near the end of his shift, that they miss him. 

Tsukishima’s heart clenches at that text; he doesn’t reply. There are a few stragglers left at the café, mostly college kids needing a caffeine fix for a long night, and he ignores his phone in favour of them. 

He’s surprised to find, just as he’s locking up for the night, Hinata knocking on the doors of the café carrying a a small bag. Against his better judgement, he lets him inside. 

“I brought you supper,” Hinata exclaims before Tsukishima can speak. He holds out the bag, and Tsukishima slowly takes it. “There’s dessert too.” 

He sits down at a table and unloads the bag, which is filled with a few tupperwares and cutlery. The food is still, somehow, warm; Hinata hovers uncomfortably. 

“Thanks for the meal,” Tsukishima says quietly, a phrase he doesn’t say often now that he doesn’t live at home, and he swears Hinata jumps. He tries to finish quickly to make sure neither of them have to wait, even if Hinata seems okay to do so all night. 

He even has the decency to pack up everything and put it back in the bag. Hinata jumps again a little bit when he stands up. 

“Hinata.” 

“Y-yes!” Hinata squeaks out. 

He rubs the back of his head. “I’ll be there next time.” 

Hinata practically gleams in the darkness. “All right!” 

He hands him the bag and they walk out together. 

\--------------------

Today is the first time in months Hinata hasn’t shown up for his morning coffee. 

Tsukishima’s not worried. He’s not worried when he casually asks Yamaguchi about him when he comes in, and he’s not worried when Yamaguchi doesn’t have answers. He’s not worried when he texts Hinata. He’s not worried when he doesn’t get a reply. He’s definitely not worried when he shows up at Hinata’s apartment after work and school and bangs on the door purposefully. And he’s absolutely not worried when Hinata opens the door with snot coming out of his nose and looking like he hasn’t slept in months. 

“I didn’t know you _could_ get sick,” Tsukishima says incredulously, and Hinata sniffs loudly. 

“Shut up, Tsukishima, of course I get sick,” he replies poutily, his voice more nasal than usually and his words slurred. Tsukishima sighs and ushers him back inside, letting himself in. 

“Go back to bed. Have you taken any medicine?” 

“Don’t got any,” Hinata mutters. “Bakageyama used the last of it.” 

Tsukishima pinches the bridge of his nose. “Wonderful.” 

He debates leaving Hinata to fend for himself, having satisfied his curiosity, but decides against it despite his better judgement when he watches Hinata rub his eyes and sniff loudly again. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he mutters to himself. “Hinata, go to bed, I’ll be back soon.” 

“Okay,” Hinata says tiredly, and stumbles to his bedroom. 

Tsukishima is grateful there’s a grocery store nearby, and buys what he thinks are necessities for sick people; medicine, canned soup, and tea. When he arrives back at the apartment, Hinata has passed out on the floor. 

“Honestly,” he says, clicking his tongue, and lifts him up, carrying him to what he thinks is his room and dropping him on the bed. Hinata curls up into a ball, panting a little as sweat forms; Tsukishima can’t remember a time he’s seen him so vulnerable. 

It takes a good four days for Hinata to recover, during which Tsukishima spends most of his free time at his apartment. He cooks for him and makes sure he’s cleaned himself and slept; he even lets himself be convinced to stay the night the first day. 

It is an exhausting few days for him, and he doesn’t sleep as much as he’d like, but seeing Hinata coming to buy coffee at his normal time makes him feel like, maybe, it was worth it. 

He walks in with his normal cheer, waving brightly at Tsukishima before he even makes it to the counter. Tsukishima is already writing his order down on a cup when he walks up and sets a cake carrier on the counter. Tsukishima pauses and raises an eyebrow. 

“What’s this?” he asks warily. 

“Strawberry shortcake!” Hinata says, grinning brightly up at him. “For helping me when I was sick. It was the only thing I could think of making as a thank you. You can just return the carrier whenever.” 

Tsukishima checks the inside contents just to affirm that it is, indeed, strawberry shortcake, and he is not disappointed; it looks beautiful and delicious. 

“I really want to thank you,” Hinata says, his smile falling into something softer and more sincere. “It was really nice of you to take care of me without being asked to.” 

Tsukishima can feel a blush starting up on his ears and tries to will it away before it can reach his cheeks. “It was nothing. It was just weird without you around. And you looked pretty pathetic.” 

Hinata doesn’t deflate one bit, and for a brief moment Tsukishima wonders if he can see through him. They stand there silent for a moment, until the door chimes open and they’re shaken out of it. 

“I’ll, uh, put this in the back,” Tsukishima says, and quickly goes to do so. In the few moments alone, he tries to calm his heart rate, and he feels a little better when he comes back out. Kuroo has taken over the counter in his absence, and Hinata has left - this time, he doesn’t stay to sip on his drink. 

It makes Tsukishima feel just the slightest bit lonely. 

\--------------------

He doesn’t remember when he ended up on a couch, or when he got a blanket, but it’s the first thing he notices when he rouses. He’s pretty sure he was on a chair, actually - wasn’t it a study session? 

Right. He fell asleep at the table. 

He’d been working on a paper until early morning, and had only gotten a few hours of sleep before work, and he’d immediately gone to class after that. He’d had no chance to rest before ending up at Hinata’s, and ended up nodding off while the others were studying. 

He doesn’t feel like getting up just yet, so he pretends to be asleep a little longer. It has nothing to do with the fact that the blanket smells like cinnamon and oranges, just like Hinata, he tells himself - he just wants to rest, and if he got up now he’d probably have to go home. 

“Tsukishima, are you awake?” 

That’s Hinata. He takes care to keep his breathing even and expression blank, not stirring even a little. There’s a tiny laugh. 

“Thought so. You must be super tired. You fell over on the table and we all went ‘gyah!’ since it was weird.” He laughs again, barely-there wisps of air instead of his normal loud glee. 

He’s silent for a few minutes after that, and Tsukishima almost wonders if he’s fallen asleep himself. 

“Hey, Tsukishima,” he starts again, softer this time. There’s a shuffling sound - he seems to be coming closer. Tsukishima can feel his breath on his face. “I don’t think I can say this when you’re awake since you’re probably gonna reject me, but I really like you.” 

Tsukishima stops breathing altogether. 

“Weird, right? I mean, you’re super rude and you always make fun of me for my coffee - oh hey, I finished one of them by the way, isn’t that awesome? It tasted awful, but I did it. That’ll show Kageyama.” He laughs to himself. “But yeah. I don’t really get it myself. It’s nice enough just being friends, even if I want to kiss you sometimes. Not that you’d let me though. You’d probably go ‘only if you can reach’ and-” 

Tsukishima blindly reaches out, cups Hinata’s face, and plants an off-kilter kiss on him. 

Hinata completely freezes up. He doesn’t unfreeze even after Tsukishima pulls away and opens his eyes. He sits there wide-eyed, mouth open in an ‘o’, hands hovering awkwardly. 

“For the record,” Tsukishima says, cracking a smile, “I would absolutely say that.” 

Hinata chokes a little. “Um. How long were you. Listening to me.” 

“Since the beginning. I woke up right before you started talking. Good job on the coffee.” He moves to lie down again, heart beating too fast for sleep but wanting to anyway, and closes his eyes. 

“Tsukishima!” 

He opens them again and Hinata is nearly vibrating. “D-does this mean,” he starts, takes a huge gulp of air, “that you like me too?” 

He almost scoffs. Almost, except Hinata isn’t vibrating from excitement, he realizes - he’s doing it out of fear. Tsukishima feels a little guilty for not being clearer; he may not want to say the words out loud, but he doesn’t want this either. 

He compromises. “Obviously, idiot,” he says snootily. Hinata’s eyes look like saucers at this point and there’s dead silence. Tsukishima wonders if he’s said the wrong thing, after all, but Hinata jumps right into the air (jesus how did he _do_ that he was _kneeling_ ) and starts whooping loudly, his grin looking like it's about to break his face. Tsukishima rolls his eyes and sits upright, only to find himself with a lap full of Hinata, who plants his hands on his face and kisses him like Tsukishima is water and he’s been walking in the desert. 

Hinata tastes like citrus and whipped cream and black coffee, and Tsukishima can’t get enough of it. His hands slide around Hinata’s waist and rest there lightly; Hinata’s go from his face to around his neck, clenching tuftfulls of his hair to anchor himself. When they break apart Hinata starts laughing, gleeful and without abandon, and Tsukishima cannot hold back the sincere smile that breaks on his face. 

“I gotta tell Yamaguchi - Yachi - Kageyama-” Hinata rambles, counting on his fingers. 

“Later,” Tsukishima says, kissing him again. “Shut up right now.” 

Hinata concedes.


End file.
